The stallion she had nearly steamrolled seems far more reasonable than most, and Cerosi nearly feels guilty for her reaction. Still, she has seen plenty of performances on the part of stallions acting reasonable, so she keeps her prickle of guilt to herself.

The stallion introduces himself as Zevulun. Cerosi considers what he said about other stallions living in the Prairie; she assumes he means his sons, but the fact that he mentioned it at all is curious to her. He reminds her in this way of Cain, who was slow to compete with other males, preferring to keep the peace and not tread on the freedom of the mares in his herd. It makes her less nervous about Håkon, a male not related by blood, who might otherwise be in danger in an unfamiliar stallion’s territory.

“We got lucky with the bear,” she says. “I saw the cub from a distance. I don’t even know if it realized we were there.” She glances back in the direction of the Forest, gold eyes searching the trees as though the bear might take this convenient opportunity to make itself known, despite the amount of time it has spent not making chase. She supposed, as any mother animal would do, the bear would have been after them by now if it was going to come after them at all.

“We’re… not heading anywhere in particular, actually,” she says, turning back to Zevulun. “We came from the Crossing.” It’s as close an answer to his question as she could provide. She doesn’t know how to explain that there never had been a destination, even when she spent so many seasons in the Desert. There is nowhere to go, and no home to return, but this is the way it has always been. “I’m Cerosi,” she says. “I appreciate the offer. We may… rest, a bit, before moving on.” Her tone is hesitant; the dun mare is wary of remaining anywhere too long, or risk the memories catching up to her, but she knows Håkon would benefit from a few days of stability. The boy’s only friends were bugs and other small creatures, and though Cerosi herself is unwilling to close the emotional gap between herself and her son, she still worries from a distance.